


Where angels and shadows foregather

by midwinterspring



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Astronomy References, Bisexual Ben Solo, Bisexual Rey (Star Wars), F/M, Inspired by Music, Inspired by Poetry, Los Angeles, Meet-Cute, Mentions of alcohol, No Pregnancy, No one drinks alcohol in the fic, Non-binary Rey, Past Rey/Bazine, Queer Culture, Rey likes robots, Rey uses she and they pronouns, past Ben/Tai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29303154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midwinterspring/pseuds/midwinterspring
Summary: Ben meets Rey on a magical night in Los Angeles...Inspired by Evalyn's gorgeous and ethereal albumSalvation.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 7
Kudos: 22
Collections: Queerly Beloved Reylo Fics, To Find Your Kiss: The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology's Valentine's Day Exchange





	Where angels and shadows foregather

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LittleLostStar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLostStar/gifts).



> Thank you to [radioactivesaltghoul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/radioactivesaltghoul) for the beta and sensitivity read!
> 
> Excellent moodboard by [@darthdarcyy](https://twitter.com/darthdarcyy)!

It's an unusually clear night for August in Los Angeles as Ben arrives at the mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Dark orange still bands the western sky, and he can see a few bright stars clearly.

The house is Old Hollywood in a way that Ben forgets is real sometimes, all wrought iron and stucco and red-orange tile roofs over terraces descending the hillside. Tai had invited him to this party, saying that some of his friends were raising money for a project to renovate the mansion into an event space and retreat for queer creatives. The exact details were vague, but Tai knew how shy Ben could be, so if he thought Ben would like the crowd, he'd give it a try.

"There's a bar and DJ downstairs," says Tai, pointing down some dramatic tan stone stairs at another room with a beautiful view of the city through glass doors onto a terrace. "Don't go into the rooms under renovation - there are signs on the doors. There will be performances in the living room in a couple of hours — talk to Bazine if you're interested." A pale person with striking, angular eye makeup and a black catsuit waves. "Pronoun and pride flag stickers are on the table, if you want either, next to the donation box. We have Venmo too. I need to say hi to our other guests, but I definitely want to catch up later," says Tai.

"Sounds great," says Ben, grabbing "he" and bi pride stickers, and dropping some money in the box. Tai drifts off back toward the entrance, and Ben wanders further into the space.

Arched doorways separate the rooms. Music and laughter drift through them, under the vaulted ceilings. It looks a bit crowded around the bar at the moment, possibly due to the gorgeous drag queen currently tending bar, so Ben looks at some of the other rooms.

There are glass French doors to another terrace on the floor above the bar. Ben walks through and emerges onto a flagstoned patio lit by soft lantern light. A small fountain splashes in the center of the patio, its basin entirely surrounded by candles. Beyond a wrought iron railing, downtown glows like his own private galaxy.

Ben turns around and realizes he isn't alone out here. There's someone sitting on a long outdoor couch in a corner of the patio facing the gorgeous view. The lantern light highlights a sharp nose and delicate lips. She's wearing "she", "they", and bi pride stickers. Her hair is tied in three buns.

"Oh — sorry. I didn't see you there. Sorry to disturb you," says Ben.

"No worries," she says. "Feel free to grab a seat if you like — you're not disturbing me at all. Just enjoying the clear night."

"Sure," says Ben and sits down.

"I'm Rey," they say. "With an E."

"Hi, I'm Ben."

Rey looks up at the sky, and Ben does too. "What are you looking at, if you don't mind me asking?" he asks.

Rey points up above the city lights. "Jupiter."

Ben can see a steady white dot,with a reddish dot below and to the right. "And is that Mars nearby?"

"No, it's Antares. But I had to look that up on an app. We should be able to see Saturn, too." She glances at her phone. "Hmm. Maybe from the edge of the patio."

They walk over to the railing. The hillsides surrounding the space are covered in large bushes. Rey points to another bright dot, this time somewhat yellowish. "There it is, in the southeast."

"Cool," says Ben. He wants to say something else, about what it feels like to be reminded that there's a whole solar system out there, that the universe just keeps going and going and _going_ , but he doesn't know how to put it into words. It reminds him of loneliness too, but he'd rather not give voice to that.

Rey turns to one of the bushes. The leaves look black and shiny in the lantern light, but Ben can tell that it's covered in white flowers. "Ah," Rey says. "Toyon."

"What's that?" Ben hadn't ever paid much attention to plants.

"California holly." They look at a tree next to it. "This one's California bay laurel, I think. A bit hard to tell in the dark, but it grows all over the place here, just like toyon."

"So you like planets...and plants," says Ben.

"Yep," says Rey. They brush their hand through the toyon branches. "I grew up in the high desert," they say after a moment, gently cupping a spray of leaves and blossoms in their hand. "Every tough bit of greenery is precious to me. And this place — _this_ place is an oasis." They gesture toward everything around them — the grid of lights in front of them, the patio, and the hills rising behind them.

"And the planets?" asks Ben.

"That's my work, up there," says Rey, pointing at Jupiter. "Or, I guess I should say, my work is orbiting there. I work at the Jet Propulsion Lab."

"Yeah?" asks Ben, impressed. "I heard something about a spacecraft at Jupiter a few years ago... Or maybe I'm thinking of one at Saturn."

"Yeah, we had one at Saturn, too. Cassini. Such a good robot. Her mission ended in 2017." Rey looks down, and Ben can hear grief in her voice. "We'll be analyzing her data for years to come. I never got to work on her, though. I work on the Juno mission, at Jupiter - she's been orbiting there for the past few years."

"Also 'she'?"

"Yeah," says Rey. "The people I work with generally call our spacecraft 'she', like ships, I guess. Or 'we'. 'We're downlinking data today. We're going to look at lightning on Jupiter.' Like that."

They walk back to the couches and sit down, like they had had the same thought at the same moment.

"How did you end up at JPL, if you don't mind me asking?" asks Ben.

"I don't mind," says Rey. "It was because of a field trip, if you can believe it. JPL does an open house every year, and my middle school class went. Once I got there...I didn't want to leave. I didn't realize people sent robots to space. I mean, maybe I saw pictures in my textbooks or something, but I didn't realize how many there were, or how many _people_ put them there. They had life-size, I mean actual-size models and they were so cute! And so... _small_ compared to where they are. Compared to how far they travel. For _us_ ." Her eyes light up, and her whole being seems to come alive as she talks. "They are our eyes, and hands. They have senses humans can't have, if we give them the right instruments. So...yeah. That was that. And it was so, so much hard work. It _is_ so much work. But worth it, most days. I'm a downlink operations engineer - basically, I help the spacecraft talk to Earth."

She moves over on the couch, and gestures for Ben to sit closer to her, and he does. "So what about you? How did you end up here?"

"Here," he asks, gesturing out at L.A.'s lights, "or here?" and he gestures at the house.

Rey shrugs. "Either. The night, as they say, is young." She turns to him, looking like she's listening intently.

Ben looks up at Jupiter and Antares shining above them. "I grew up in New York. I moved out here after college. My uncle has lived here for a long time. He's kind of a cliche old hippy - he teaches yoga and meditation and needed someone to help with his business. My parents thought it might be helpful for me to learn from him, and I just wanted to live somewhere else. I was so, so restless, and a cross-country move sounded interesting, so I did it."

"How did it go?"

Ben laughs. "I was good at the marketing part. The meditation part...wasn't really my thing, at least not the kind my uncle taught. But it did get me thinking. I used to be so...angry. I'd get into stupid fights. I felt so weird in my body, like I was only capable of violence, and that's not who I wanted to be. So I started going to therapy, and the therapist recommended I do something physical. I barely remember how I found it, but I tried a swing dance class. Surprised me, but I loved it. And I took up calligraphy too. Between those two activities, I learned to deal with stress better. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it literally changed my life." He looks over at Rey. "Sorry to dump all that on you," he said.

"No worries," they say. "I like getting to know people. And believe me, I used to get into fights all the time. I was a feral little child." They smile. "So what are you doing _here_?" They gesture at the flagstones and the fountain.

"I found this place through Tai. One of my exes, but we stayed close friends somehow. I met him at one of my uncle's classes. He knows the people who are doing all...this."

"Sounds like me," says Rey. "One of those people is my ex Bazine."

"The one organizing the performances?"

"Yep, that's her, keeping the tradition of the salon alive." She says it with the French pronunciation. "We're still friends, too. She invited me because she knows I like meeting interesting people. I have to say it's been a success so far," Rey says with a smile and a nod of her head toward him.

"Oh," says Ben, grinning. "Uh, thanks."

"You said you did calligraphy?" asks Rey, leaning toward him.

"Yeah," says Ben. "I've done a pretty good business with wedding invitations and such, and sometimes even murals. Tai wanted me to meet people here, because I'm wanting to explore performance calligraphy."

"What's that?" Rey asks.

"You know, I'm still trying to figure it out. I mean, how easy is it to define performance _art_ , right? But my thought is larger scale works, something where I'd really have to move my body. Or something where a piece is generated as part of an event."

"That's so cool," says Rey. "Do you want to show me?"

Ben looks at their face, glowing golden, and thinks of them listening for spacecraft across vast distances. The hedges around the patio enfold them in a quiet world where the fountain splashing feels as loud as the DJ's bass a level below them. They sit in stillness, above the endlessly moving city. So much seems possible.

He looks around and sees a few sprigs of toyon have snapped off and are lying around the patio. Feeling a rush of inspiration, he picks up the largest one, then dips it in the fountain. He bends over, using the leaves as a huge brush, and writes Rey's name in an arc. He makes the end of the "y" dip and swirl, ending in front of their sandaled feet. He stands up from his crouch. "There. For you, until it evaporates."

"It's lovely," says Rey. "I kind of want to leave it for someone else to be surprised by, now." She shifts in her seat. "Hey, I was thinking of heading in and getting a drink. The bar should be less crowded now. Want to come with me?"

"Yeah," says Ben. "I haven't gotten a drink yet."

They walk back into the house, pausing to admire a carved stone fireplace with a wrought iron grille. "So, were you planning to perform tonight?" Rey asks.

"I'd love to, but I'm not ready yet. Maybe next time. What about you?"

"Yeah — I'm going to read some poetry by Jack Parsons," she says.

"Who?"

"One of the founders of JPL. Self-taught rocket scientist, occultist, really interesting guy. He also wrote poetry and even recited poems at rocket launches."

"That's cool," says Ben. "I'd be interested to hear that."

"Should be neat." She pauses, and steps closer to him. "You know, for next time...it would be cool to have performance calligraphy with my poetry reading. If you'd be into that." She's looking at his lips, and it feels like she's asking about more than a performance.

"I would definitely be into that," Ben says.

They step closer and reach out their hand, and he reaches out his, thinking of a spacecraft making contact with Earth from a great distance. So far away, and yet never alone.

*

A few months later, there's another party at the house. The toyon is covered in red berries. Rey has a Juno image on a huge piece of paper hanging behind her for the performance, Jupiter's clouds swirling in abstract patterns of blue and brown and yellow. Amidst the swirls, Ben writes Jack Parson's words as she reads:

_I have strayed in a forest enchanted_

_Where balefire glows_

He's watched them multiple times in rehearsals, knows the way they smile and gesture at the group as they say, _I have come to the hostelry of poets_...

He knows other ways their body moves now, awash with pleasure as they arch over him, but he doesn't want to get distracted thinking of that now. His letters are sure and flowing as he writes the lines

_Here in the darkness suspended_

_From the heaven that was, and is ended_

_And the heaven to be_

_What phantoms I see._

She finishes the poem, and he ends his calligraphy with a flourish. And all _he_ sees in this strange enchanted house, surrounded by the smiling faces of their audience, is her.

**Author's Note:**

> My other fics inspired by music are ["Love, but it's so slashed and torn"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24831247) and ["on what ground I was founded (when I first saw you)"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29274975). Engineer Rey shows up in ["To Love Shadows and Marvels"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23674711/chapters/56834920) and ["More Than a Candle"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27258991). Ben dances in ["Children of the Revolution (you can't fool us)"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25985023/chapters/63174271).
> 
> When I listened to the album and watched the video for "Angels", it made me think of the history behind the founding of the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, as well as Francesca Lia Block's gorgeous writing about L.A. I've never been to L.A. or Pasadena, but I do hope to make it to a JPL Open House someday. (Yes, it's a real event!)
> 
> The title and the lines of poetry quoted are all from the poem "The Witch House" by John W. ("Jack") Parsons. I found it in the book _Songs for the Witch Woman_ which includes his poetry and his wife Marjorie Cameron's art.
> 
> Jack Parsons really was an interesting person - in addition to how Rey describes him (which is all true), he was a science fiction fan. (He gave a lecture on rocketry that an 18 year old Ray Bradbury attended.) For more information on him, I recommend the book _Strange Angel_ by George Pendle. 
> 
> [JPL](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are)  
> [Juno](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/juno)  
> [The JunoCam image Ben writes on](https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/news/jupiter_abyss)  
> [Cassini](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/cassini-huygens)  
> [Deep Space Network Now](https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html) See which robotic spacecraft humans are talking to *right now*!
> 
> Rey's discussion of describing a spacecraft as "we" comes from the book _Seeing Like a Rover_ by Janet Vertesi. I don't know if it's language that the Juno team actually uses.
> 
> [Toyon](https://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/339--heteromeles-arbutifolia)  
> [California Bay Laurel](https://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/682--umbellularia-californica)
> 
> The position of Jupiter, Antares, and Saturn in the sky over L.A. was found on Sky and Telescope's website for the house's zip code on Aug. 1, 2019. I guessed what would be visible based on my experience in other light-polluted cities in the US.
> 
> Oh yeah, and [the house is real](https://la.curbed.com/2018/3/23/17131144/af-leicht-castle-marlon-brando-hollywood-hills). The patio is mostly my own creation, though.
> 
> I'm on Twitter as [@midwintersprin1](https://twitter.com/midwintersprin1). Feel free to say hi, and let me know if I need to tag anything in a DM, a comment here, or on Discord.


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